The actor, who played Gavin's dad, Mick Shipman, in the beloved BBC comedy, opened up on the Christmas special after news broke of it yesterday (Tuesday, 28th May), and it sounds like it's set to be an emotional roller coaster for fans.

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Speaking on BBC's World at One on Tuesday,Larry revealed: "I literally got the script just before I came on and I read the first scene and I was weeping."

Credit: PA

Larry went on to heap on the praise for Ruth Jones and James Corden, who write the scripts together as well as starring as Nessa and Smithy.

"It's always in the writing though isn't it?" he explained. "That's the thing, it's in the writing. What do you capture when you get it down?

"People ask me this question over and over again, 'Is any of it or was any of it ad-libbed?' It was never ad-libbed. James and Ruth captured the feeling, they captured the moment."

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Credit: PA

He went on to add: "They got it right, and then they spent a lot of time figuring out the people to play those parts and matched us all up," he continued.

"We all sat around in a hotel every night together like a family and the whole thing became that unit - off stage, as well as on stage - and the magic was captured on paper first and then we picked up and got it."

The Christmas special will be an hour long and will air on Christmas day.

Ruth and James opened up on their decision to revisit the show, sharing a statement to fans yesterday.

They said: "Over the last 10 years we've talked a lot about Gavin & Stacey - where they might be today and what their lives might look like. And so in secret we took the plunge and wrote this one hour special.

"We've loved revisiting Barry and Essex again and bringing the characters back together has been a joy. We're so excited to get the chance to work with our fabulous cast and crew once more and to give fans of the show a festive treat this Christmas.

Rachel Andrews

Rachel Andrews is an NCTJ trained Journalist at PRETTY52. She specialises in Fashion and Beauty Journalism, and has experience at a range of online and print publications and joined the team in 2017. Contact her - rachel.andrews@pretty52.com